Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might
Dragon Ball Z the Movie: The Tree of Might, known in Japan as Dragon Ball Z: Chikyū Marugoto Chōkessen (ドラゴンボールZ 地球まるごと超決戦, literally "Dragon Ball Z: Super Deciding Battle for the Entire Planet Earth"), is the third Dragon Ball Z movie. It was originally released in Japan on July 7, 1990 between episodes 54 and 55. It was translated into English by FUNimation. This movie, along with Dead Zone and The World's Strongest, was released in a DVD box set from FUNimation on Novmember 12, 2006. Synopsis In this movie the Z Warriors face a new threat that starts with the burning of a forest in which Gohan and Krillin rescue a small dragon named Ikarus. Although they are able to restore it to its normal state with the Dragonballs, Icarus doesn't return and stays with Gohan, much to Chi-Chi's fury. Goku then finds a nearby cave to keep Icarus close to Gohan. Later, the Earth is visited by an unfriendly group of aliens under the leadership of a Saiyan. Upon arriving, they plant a seed which grows the Tree of Might, a plant that sucks the life of the planet on which it was planted and leaves it a desert. The Z Warriors (Goku, Krillin, Yamcha, Tien and Chiaotzu) investigate and try to destroy the Tree, but are unsuccessful. They are then confronted by the aliens (Deiz, Cacao, Razun, Lakasei, and Amond) whilst their leader watches from inside the spaceship. During the ensuing battle, Chiaotzu is rescued by Gohan, who had just arrived, from Razun and demonstrates his incredible fighting skills. He is then encountered by the aliens leader Turles, a Saiyan who bears a striking resemblance to Goku. Tullece gives Gohan a choice to either join him or die. Gohan refuses to join Turles, and is saved in time thanks to the arrival of Piccolo. Using a dirty trick, Turles turns Gohan into a Great Ape and sets him on Goku who eventually manages to cut his son's tail off and restore him to normal. Cradling the little one in his arms, Gohan falls deep asleep while Goku threatens Turles. Angry and impressed at the same time, Turles sets his henchmen on Goku, who uses the Kaioken and makes quick work of them. Goku and Turles then fight, with Goku having the upper hand until Turles pushes his power further by eating a fruit from the Tree of Might. With his new power, Turles dominates Goku and beats him to the point that he is no longer able to fight. Slowly recovering while Turles is distracted by the rest of the Z Warriors, Goku decides to use the Spirit Bomb. Unable to gather energy from living beings, Goku decides to use the stolen energy inside the Tree of Might itself. Eventually successful in creating the Spirit Bomb, Goku sees his opportunity, and fires it straight into Turles, who is carried up the trunk of the Tree of Might and destroyed along with the Tree when the Spirit Bomb explodes. With the terror now over, Goku and the others return to their normal lives once again. Characters Heroes *Goku *Gohan *Piccolo *Krillin *Yamcha *Tien *Chiaotzu Villians *Turles *Razun *Lakasei *Deiz *Cacao *Amond Battle Features *Tien & Chaozu Vs. Razun & Lakasei *Krillin Vs. Amond *Yamcha Vs. Cacao *Goku Vs. Deiz & Cacao *Gohan Vs. Lakasei *Oozaru Gohan Vs. Goku *Oozaru Gohan Vs. Turlus *Goku Vs. Amond, Deiz, Cacao, Razun & Lakasei *Piccolo Vs. Turlus *Goku Vs. Turlus *Piccolo, Krillin, Yamcha, Tien, Chaozu Vs. Turlus *Goku Vs. Turlus Releases The movie was originally released on both VHS and Laserdisc in Japan. They were in a 16:9 format, cropped from it's original 4:3 format. It was then released later in Japan as part of the well-known Dragonbox sets, remastered from it's original film masters and in a 16:9 anamorphic widescreen format. There was much controversy from fans over the decision to crop the movies from it's original 4:3 format. The controversy died down when Toei announced that the films were originally animated for widescreen viewing. The boxed set was released (containing all four Dragon Ball and all thirteen Dragon Ball Z movies) with great critical and audience reception. For American release, it was released in 1997 along with the first two movies by FUNimation and Pioneer in VHS, Laserdisc, and DVD. They were uncut, and contained both the Ocean Group dub and original Japanese dub. They were also released for the first time in a 4:3 format. They were then re-released in 2006 by FUNimation in a 'first strike' boxset, containing a brand-new in-house dub and the original Japanese dub. FUNimation intends to release this film alongside Lord Slug digitally remastered and in a 16:9 format, like with the Season Boxsets and past Double Features. Cast Music *OP *# "CHA-LA HEAD-CHA-LA" *#* Lyrics: Yukinojō Mori, Music: Chiho Kiyooka, Arrangement: Kenji Yamamoto, Vocals: Hironobu Kageyama *#** Song Lyrics *ED *# "Marugoto"; まるごと (The Whole World) *#* Lyrics: Dai Satō, Music: Chiho Kiyooka, Arrangement: Kenji Yamamoto, Vocals: Hironobu Kageyama & Ammy *#** Song Lyrics Trivia * The 1st DBZ Film to feature a Saiyan as villian. *Takes place after movie 2, before the Frieza Saga begins. *Does not take place in the Dragon Ball Z timeline, since it takes place after the fight with the Saiyans but before the trip to Namek, and by this time Piccolo, Yamcha, Tien, and Chiaotzu are dead and Goku is in the hospital. See also * List of films 3